Drivers generally describe the Continental Sport Contact 5 as a confidence-inspiring UHP tyre with strong dry and wet grip, sharp steering response, and secure braking-especially praised in rain and at speed. However, the dominant complaint is very fast wear (often on the front axle), which many feel makes it poor value despite the premium price. A smaller but recurring theme is increased road noise and a firmer/harsh ride as the tyre ages or on coarse surfaces.
What owners mention most counted across 195 reviews
Outstanding tyre! The last owner had fitted some Chinese Death Rings to the front and it still had some worn Sport Contact 3's fitted to the rear, which made for an interesting combination, so much so, that I would try and avoid driving the car in the wet if at all possible! The Sport Contact 5's have transformed the car and whilst driving the car recently in torrential rain, I had complete confidence! Well worth the money!
Had continental sport contact 3 which did 20,000 miles on the front of my Saab 93 aero.bought sport contact 5 this year to replace,excellent grip in wet and dry but wear is very poor,need replacement after 8000 miles.going back to sport contact 3 which are almost as good but last much longer
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I have a Mini JCW (210BHP Turbo)and am a big fan of Conti sport tyres as I always put the conti 2s on my old BMW 328i Sport and got 20K (miles)minimum.
I had Yokohama S drive on my old Supercharged Mini running 230bhp and again was looking at 20k. The Conti Sport 5 have done 6K and are just legal, the wife mainly does the school run and uses it for work (it is easy to park she says). She can be a bit spirited, even so the tyres on them and have melted in 6 months, I use the car generally twice a week, about 20 miles and although put my foot down am far from pushing the car hard. Reading one comment that the tyre wear is "horrific" I can only agree, I really expected so much more from a brand I have always preferred to use.
The grip is fantastic wet or dry. To get the economy the tyres raise to reduce the contact patch when travelling straight, but this translates to a feeling of instability at speed as the tyre raises and drops. The wear rate is horrific, I'm down to the wear limit in 6000 miles. Very disappointed as auto express rated them the best tyre 2015, I guess they didn't test wear rates. I will not buy them again. I've ordered some Nokian zLine to replace them.
I have Brigestone Potenza before on my Civic Type R EP3. The Continental are way better in the wet.
The Continental SP5 are not performing well at all below 12°C.
The Continental SP5 does not give such a good feedback as the Potenza. The Potenza drives like you would walk bare foot on the road. Increadibly joyful. The Continental is numb compared to the Potenza.
The Continental did around 35000 dispite going 3 times on Italian roads with it, so it does a lot of miles.
In will not buy again the Conti SP5 because of the lack of feeling and low grip under 12°C. It will not buy again the Potenza because it is dangerous on wet roads.
I will buy Nokian Z Lines, we shall see.
in July 2014, I bought a set for my Saab 9-3ss Aero V6 Hirsch, a moderately heavy-at-the-front car which destroyed a set of Dunlop Sportmaxx RT in less than 10k miles.
I have replaced the Contis today. 23k miles over 12 months. With another set of the same. Superb tyres for the money. Oh: and £60 less a set than they were a year ago. Dry and wet grip inspires confidence on A-roads and B-roads and unclassified roads alike. They do get noisy around 2.5mm; and they started tramlining on cats-eyes at 2mm. That's when I replaced them.
For the money (£295 for four) I simply cannot recommend them highly enough.
56%
Member
Mercedes Benz
225/45 R18
8 miles
Mostly Town
Average
Something weird going on with my replacement set of Conti Contact 5 225 - 45 -18's. I drive a 12 plated Merc C220 CDI Sport Estate. They came with Conti contact 5's, the first set lasted from March 2012 until June 2014. Due to a change in job (and my commute shifting from car to train) I covered 22,500 miles on the first set. I replaced them like for like, and assumed they would last for the remainder of my lease which expires in March 2016 due to my mileage being significantly lower. It is now used primarily for a short school run each day, trips up/down the M23 to visit in laws/family, and 1 return trip to the New Forest last summer. However I was flagged to just having 3mm tread left at the January service, and I now need to replace them later this month. So for some reason the 2nd set has lasted for only 8,000 miles. My supplier is willing to put in a warranty claim on my behalf, but given the pedestrian nature of the cars use in the 13 months since they were fitted I think something is seriously wrong. My only thought was that the longer hot summer last year may have impacted the rubber, but will not be buying these tyres again and will push hard for a refund.
So i bought these tyres last year and I drove most miles on motroways and freeways. The front tires are now below legal tread wear in the middle (and I drive with the proper pressure) and about half done on the edges.
So I will be exchanging the tyres shortly and will not but continental again.
But the grip on both dry and wet roads were incredible for the first 6000 miles and after that the wear has made it more average.
